Paolo Ardoino: “The launch of BTC-backed bonds will be delayed for several months”

Paolo Ardoino, CTO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, said that El Salvador will postpone the launch of Bitcoin-backed bonds due to the unpreparedness of the state’s legal framework.

Last November, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced his intention to launch Bitcoin-backed Volcano Bonds. They will be used to finance the infrastructure of Bitcoin City, which will become a zone for the development of technological innovations and a tax haven. $1 billion from the sale of bonds will be invested in this project. The management of Bitfinex supported this initiative and expressed their readiness to place these bonds on their platform.

However, in a recent interview, Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino stated that the El Salvadoran government may once again delay the launch of the bonds. He suggested that if the law regarding the launch of these digital securities is passed in September, then it will take another two to three months to implement the regulatory framework.

This is not the first time that the launch of BTC-backed bonds has been delayed. In June, Salvadoran Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya announced that this event would have to be postponed due to the high volatility of the cryptocurrency market and the difficult geopolitical situation in connection with the military operation in Ukraine. In addition, many investors interested in cryptocurrencies have begun to invest in the arms industry, Zelaya added.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) does not approve of the actions of the El Salvadorian government and subject it to harsh criticism for buying bitcoin. At the beginning of the year, the IMF demanded that El Salvador strip bitcoin of its legal tender status and narrow the scope of the bitcoin law.